Audacity is the most well-known name in free audio editing. Not only is it open source software, and not only has it been around since 2000, but it’s effective at what it does and can be used for more than just editing audio.

There’s nothing wrong with Audacity, and we recommend giving it a try if you haven’t yet. It’s popular for a reason and you should only look for an alternative if it’s buggy, crashy, or you’ve tried it and just don’t like how it feels.

Fortunately, if that’s the case, alternatives do exist. Here are some of the best ones we’ve found.

1. ocenaudio

Available on Windows, Mac, Linux.

ocenaudio is a tiny, lightweight, and fast audio editor that’s based on the Ocen Framework, which is a powerful cross-platform library that standardizes the manipulation and analysis of audio. In short, that means ocenaudio performs well and remains stable no matter which OS you use it on.

Because it’s so slim, you probably won’t want to use it for editing-heavy projects like music production. However, if you just want to record a monolog or an interview — as would be the case for a podcast, for example — then ocenaudio is actually quite good.

Think of it as the Microsoft Paint of audio editing: perfect for quick and easy cropping and splicing, but not so great when you need to do something more complex.

2. Wavosaur

Available on Windows.

One downside to Audacity is that you can’t edit multiple projects at once. I’m not talking about importing multiple audio sources and mixing them together — Audacity can certainly do that — but if you want to work on several different audios at once, you’re out of luck.

That’s one of the big draws of Wavosaur: a multiple document interface using tabs. It also comes with a handful of advanced features (e.g. auto-trim, silence remover, crossfade looping, export regions of audio, etc.) and solid support for VST plugins.

It’s a little harder to learn, but not by much. The only true downside is that Wavosaur is neither cross-platform nor open source. At least it’s 100% free.

3. AV Audio Editor

Available on Windows.

AV Audio Editor is almost like a hybrid between ocenaudio and Wavosaur, if you will. It’s like Wavosaur in its robust audio editing features, support of all common audio formats, and the ability to edit multiple files at once, but it’s like ocenaudio in its simplicity and ease of use.

One drawback is that AV Audio Editor doesn’t have a built-in recording feature, but you can just use AV Audio & Sound Recorder for that. Not only is it free, but it’s advanced enough to record from multiple microphones and audio sources at once.

4. WavePad

Available on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS.

WavePad is a professional-grade audio editor that feels like a suped-up version of Audacity. On top of all the basic editing features you’d expect, WavePad supports all kinds of effects, compression, batch processing, scrubbing, bookmarking, analysis, and VST plugins.

And all of this power is made easy to use with a straightforward (albeit messy) interface. Mobile versions are available, but we recommend sticking with the desktop one whenever possible. WavePad is completely free to use for personal use — you’ll only have to buy it if you intend to use it for commercial purposes.

5. Adobe Audition CC

Available on Windows.

Adobe Audition CC is absolutely amazing as an audio editor, but I would only consider it under one of two conditions: one, money is of no concern whatsoever, or two, you’re a digital artist, graphic designer, or photographer who already has a full Creative Cloud subscription.

Adobe Audition CC is a precision editing app, providing a bunch of neat features and tools for cleaning up audio, restoring poor quality, implementing effects, and mixing multiple sources together. It’s perfect for podcasting, sound design, and even music sampling.

But is it worth the monthly recurring cost? Maybe… only you can decide that. The best value would be to get the full Creative Cloud plan, which costs $50 per month and comes with 20+ apps, including Audition, Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, and more.

6. Ardour

Available on Windows, Mac, Linux.

It’s hard to find high-quality creative apps on Linux, and the realm of audio editing is no exception. Even in this post, the only Linux-available app so far has been ocenaudio, but what’s left for you if ocenaudio is too barebones of a solution?

Ardour is a solid bet. It can record from multiple microphones and audio sources, it can edit waveforms in a broad number of ways, it can splice and mix multiple waveforms together, and can be expanded using the hundreds of plugins available to users. Perfect for composers, musicians, and sound engineers, but may be too complex for simple podcasts and quick audio fixes.

Note that Ardour has an unusual pricing structure. The free version periodically goes silent after 10 minutes, which is enough time to let you try the app but also enough of a nuisance to get you to buy the product. To buy it, you pay what you want — any amount, even as low as $1. If you pay $45 or more, you get access to all upgrades for life.

What’s Your Audio Editor of Choice?

Windows users certainly have it easier than Mac and Linux users, but the good news is that options do exist for all platforms. Sticking with Audacity would be the easiest path because the user base is so big, but if you really can’t stand it, hopefully one of the apps above will work out for you.

Two problems really.
Very often freezes near the end of a job. I have to crash the programme then restart and recover, it works but is a nuisance.
Often have to convert the output with Soundkonverter to get it to play.

Have used Audacity for almost 10 years to record our sermons and post them on our church website. Last summer we upgraded our computers with a new dell system and windows 10. with the upgrade to windows 10, we had to purchase a new usb/midi interface. we settled for focusrite scarlett 2/4. unfortunately that interface is not compatable with Audacity. We are looking for a new program to record the sermons so that we can return to posting them on the website

I've been in a mad rush to try all sorts of different software in this arena of editing.

I write a lot on my iPhone just using the voice recorder, and then fly those into Audacity to clean them up. Or run them in reverse and take snippets to drop back into GarageBand on my iOS phone.

I've been intrigued by some of these browser-based offerings such as Soundation. And I've downloaded Twisted Wave for the 30-day free trial and appreciate how simple the command menu is; large, easy-to-read icons instead of endless pull-down tabs.

Also getting in to Ocenaudio, also a download that allows one to drag and drop files right into the program.

I've used Audacity for years, and the one thing I dislike is how precious the app is in terms of what you can and con not import, and having to export all those separate aspects man hit more difficult to send/share with your collaborators.

There was once a saying, long ago: The only replacement for a DC3 is a DC3!
(DC3 was a great, perhaps the best commercials airplane ever)
I think people understand what I mean to say about Audacity...
Tried'em (almost) all.

I also forgot to mention that I never found a way to get Audacity to record PROPERLY without having to reboot my computer EACH and EVERY time WITH my microphone and equipment plugged in at the time of rebooting. (Otherwise it would record only half of the sound !! )

I do extensive recordings and this is such a waste of precious time.
( Mac user)

I've been using Audacity and am now seeking an alternative since Audacity seems to be the route of a bug that has now caused me to loose a total of 4 days work AND a ton of stress. Their Cmd+R is not a good option for the repeat noise removal action for LENGTHY audio file editing, as in book narrations (using a mac and Cmd+R is a command to reset the Operating System).

AND it is most annoying - and TIME consuming - to have the ONLY option to remove noise is by going through a drop-down menu EACH and EVERY time - with the only hotkey - Cmd+R - being the "Repeat Remove Noise" was hardly reusable, for obvious reasons.

So I'm off to finding a new editing software that can handle large audio file editing without messing with the OS.

My only concern was the big old book I had to read...until I found tutorials, both downloadable and on YouTube. I'm not a tech junkie so the easier the better. I have a long program I'm rerecording on Audacity to be made into an MP3 salable download.

Do any of the other editors have that feature that let you 'scrub' in real time as the mouse moves? Like in audacity you can right click on a certain part of the top bar and then if you let go of the mouse button and just drag around on the wavform it has some algorithm to play the part you're dragging over where the tempo is set by how fast you're dragging the mouse pointer (or plays at normal tempo if you're dragging at a rate that would be faster than that). It also plays backwards if you drag backwards.

Probably not the most used or necessary feature in a wav editor, but I use Audacity for other purposes and have gotten some good use out of that feature. I feel like it's ridiculous that it's 2017 and the dev community is still arguing back and forth about whether/how to remove that stupid save prompt on exit even when nothing has changed. I'm ready to try something new just to see what's out there, but bonus if it has that feature!

Just had my day wasted using Audacity to record a track then found the morons who wrote it have caused a new audio track to be generated every time someone presses record.
Every musician will NOT a new track popping up without sending sound levels. Every musician will want to select tracks before and then set levels then and only then will they record into that track.
Because of this not very cleverly thought through feature this sw is useless !!

Audacity insists on creating a new audio yrack evety time you press RECORD. Brainless !
When it does you cannot set I/p levels before recording
Every Musician will want to select the tracks & input levels BEFORE recording !
Not afterwards
Whoever wrote it does not know anything about Music Production. Useless.
There is some control of levels via PAUSing track but not enough. Sound mixer desk only available afterwards.
No use for me. Day wasted.

Audacity and the damn lag has driven me to seek out alternatives ty I will try out each and hopefully continue writing and playing with what little hair I haven't ripped out in frustration ..why they can't sort it out I have no idea so many thanks to you ..and goodbye Audacity..

I followed your advice and downloaded Audacity, and went out and bought a microphone. Then I learned that audacity does not run on Windows 10. It says so on the website. I then hooked up my old Windows 7 computer and it would not see the USB microphone.

I have used AV Audio Editor and can confirm that it is free but still can do some complicated editing.
I download it to merge some files and add some effects, it has some use-able effects there (they are quiet good as for my standard).

At present i am using Audocity, I am in search of a software, which can remove vocals from the Audio, completely or atleast to the very minimum level to creat karaoke track. I want to change to such software if available.

You start by stating that Audacity is a useful and popular free open source audio editor, and then go on to compare it with non-free, commercial, closed source software, most of which are DAWs (digital audio workstations) and NOT audio editors. Using a DAW when you need an audio editor is just as pointless as using an audio editor when you need a DAW.

Soooo...These programs are either Audacity clones or provide features not available in Audacity (DAW's, etc). Why would they be considered alternatives? If you need something to do what Audacity does, just use Audacity.

Awesome. Audacity is alright in terms of technical performance, but I always felt like it could be more...user-intuitive. It would have helped me get started with recording much more easily. Definitely going to try one/all of of these alternatives.

I've used Total Recorder for about 10 years now.
Very inexpensive, simple, and very reliable (it has never failed to record anything I've tried it on)
It may not look as flashy as some of these other programs, but it works well for me.

I like audacity. But is useful to know of other worthwhile alternatives which I will check up on asap. Besides although similiar in nature each has something to offer that may be useful in the future . I keep a file of such alternatives as a fallback. Plus other commentators often have valid and useful information.

Where's Reaper? Reaper is one of the most over looked DAW's on the market. It has a similar "you should pay for this but we're going to allow you all the features of the program" kind of like Win RAR (little message with a countdown before you start the program). Besides that, it runs VSTs like a champ, and has a very simple and intuitive UI. Plus, it's made by the guys who made WinAmp!

Very surprised to see that Reaper did not make this list. I'm an audio engineer and could never get used to the simplicity of Audacity. It's not enough for someone like me who wants complete control of a multi-channel EQ without this terrible looking UI that looks like it was made in 1992. Audacity is good for what it is, but if you want a more professional DAW without shelling out a ton of money, Reaper is where you should look.

I saw Reaper in my search for Audacity alternatives, but I think I was put off by its price tag so I never checked it out. Good to know that it has an unlimited free trial, though. Being made by the guys from Winamp is a good endorsement, too. Thanks for sharing!

Excellent list and very good comparison. Personally, I oscillate between using Audacity (great, but a bit slow, and project files are clumsy) and Wavosaur (smaller and faster, but I find it less intuitive).
Also deserving mention is WavePad from NCH software. You can pay for it or download a free version which comes with what one may call harrass-ware, shortcuts to other NCH apps that exhort you to download (and pay) for them. These are very annoying, but it has to be said Wavepad is a very fine editor.

On Mac I have been using Audacity and WireTap Studio (not free) for a long time and have not found any reason to change. When looking for a free alternative for a friend I ran into Soundflower and Soundflowerbed (http://code.google.com/p/soundflower/) together with Audacity.

Not recording very much but next time I might take a look at Traverso DAW and Ardour - even if it might be a bit of overkill

I did not find any compelling reason to look for an Audacity alternative. Audacity is the best for me (and most others too).
RecordForAll costs as high as ~ $40. Whats so special about it that other free alternatives lack?